Newsletter 169. Now that AI can write, we must change how we inspire students. Plus, the disaster of corporate slop grenades, editorial cheat sheets, three people to follow and three books to read. Teach writing as thinking In school, we’ve been teaching writing as a series of rules. Here is how to spell; here is…
Newsletter 162. Harvard trashes a world-class writing center. Plus, Bret Stephens figures out AI writing is a scourge, a Nigerian novelist loses a $2 million deal over AI accusations, three people to follow and three books to read. Harvard’s writing program takes a step backwards Harvard University had wisely invested in a student writing center…
According to an article in Washington Monthly, many schools are now requesting video essays in addition to — and perhaps in place of — the traditional essay on college admission applications. In response, a growing number of colleges and universities are inviting applicants to submit a “video introduction” of themselves, in addition to the usual gauntlet of…
Academics and researchers have the luxury of working deeply for years on a topic. Often, in their work, they discover truths that have the potential to excite a more general audience, breaking out of their tight academic circles. But to succeed with a book on these topics, they need a very different approach than has…
Newsletter 81. Using machines to enforce prejudice backfires, don’t use AI to apply to AI companies, a copyright legal shocker, and a list of words to avoid. Plus, three people to follow and three books to read. Machines can’t make trans people disappear — but they can sure do a lot of damage when they…
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft Research in the UK have completed a study to determine how generative AI affects critical thinking. Not surprisingly, knowledge workers that use AI feel they are less likely to be thinking critically. The researchers surveyed digital workers by explaining what critical thinking was and then asking them if they…
Writing teacher Stephen Lane’s essay in the Boston Globe is titled “AI in the classroom could spare educators from having to teach writing.” There are two reasons to teach writing. First, it is a skill that students will need as adults, even in a world drenched in AI tools. And second, learning to write is…
Newsletter 68. Banning student AI is stupid. Plus, how print-on-demand books get on shelves, the spreadsheet blooper reel, why Elon Musk loves Trump, three people to follow, three books to read, and my interview with Jane Friedman. A five-paragraph essay reveals how to revolutionize the teaching of writing It’s time to retire the venerable five-paragraph…
An author recently asked me this question: I now have an accepted and confirmed publishing deal based on my detailed proposal from a leading academic publisher. However, it has been suggested to me that I not take the academic deal and push to find a trade publisher with a much larger audience. Those who have…